Manchester United should not start Casemiro again after Liverpool disaster

Manchester United was a victim of another disappointing afternoon yesterday in the third matchday of the Premier League. Liverpool dominated the Red Devils 3-0 and gave them a footballing lesson to remember. Despite the optimism, the new owners, and recruitment, things look to be the same for Erik Ten Hag and his men. How they lost would not please the fans as all three goals scored by Liverpool were a result of mistakes that were clinically punished, and the defensive midfielder Casemiro was the center of it all, once again!

Manchester United’s growing frustration with Casemiro

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Manchester United had a terrible afternoon with little to no positives from the manager. Casemiro, another night to forget for him, was at the helm of everything wrong United did. It was a nightmare for the Brazilian as he was directly involved in 2 goals Manchester United conceded out of 3. The first two goals were just a carbon copy of each other as the hosts wanted to play out from the back.

During the buildup, United could not escape from the wrath of the intense Liverpool press, and the ball was snatched right out of the feet of Casemiro, and Luiz Dias slotted it past Andre Onana twice in the first half. Manchester United didn’t show any signs of getting back into the game, apart from a few sitters missed by Joshua Zirkzee when the game was pretty much put to bed. In support of Casemiro, the blame goes onto the whole team, but when you are at the helm of not one by two errors that directly led to goals, questions will be asked.

Liverpool Midfield Play

The Liverpool midfield tormented Casemiro. His halftime substitution says just about everything about his first-half display. In 45 minutes, Casemiro lost the ball 13 times, twice directly leading to a goal, as mentioned. Giving away possession in these numbers is just not acceptable. His passing accuracy was only 73%, and he completed 27 out of 37 passes.

Apart from a disastrous on-ball display, he was pretty much as ineffective defensively, too, as he won only one tackle and made one clearance. No interceptions, whereas it is one of the prime roles of a defensive midfielder. This performance led to concerns that his best days might be behind him, especially given the arrival of Manuel Ugarte, who most likely will take his place at the start of eleven.

A New Direction Needed

Midfield is a major concern for Erik Ten Hag. Is it the system he inherits, or is it just down to Casemiro’s aging downfall? Manchester United seems to have very little control in midfield in whatever match they play. In contrast, Manchester City and Arsenal compete for the league each season because they dominate teams through midfield victories. Relying on the defensive prowess of the Brazilian might cause even more pressure and problems for the Dutch coach. There seems to be no balance or structure in the Manchester United midfield, even with all the stars playing. Large parts of it are due to Casemiro’s woeful form recently, where it’s clear he cannot operate as a single defensive pivot anymore.

This might even hinder the progress of the talented Kobbie Mainoo, who might be overburdened too much on his delicate young shoulders. This indicates that the manager should start Casemiro, maybe not again, and include Ugarte in his place as soon as possible. Ten Hag mentioned in his post-press conference that it might take Ugarte weeks or months to get to full fitness. He could gamble with Toby Collyer as the defensive pivot instead of Casemiro until the Uruguayan gains full fitness.

The kid might turn into another Kobbie Mainoo and help Manchester United gain some stability in midfield. Manchester United and Ten Hag have some critical weeks ahead of them. It will be interesting to watch if Ten Hag makes a change or continues to play alongside Casemiro.

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